Condorcet methods
87-589: Jonathan Neil Reynolds (born 28 August 1980) is a British politician who has served as Secretary of State for Business and Trade and President of the Board of Trade since July 2024. A member of the Labour and Co-operative parties , he has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Stalybridge and Hyde since 2010 . Reynolds served as Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Leader of
174-566: A Christian socialist . At the 2019 general election , Reynolds was again re-elected, with a decreased vote share of 44.7% and a decreased majority of 2,946. Reynolds attended the 2024 World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos , Switzerland . In January 2024, Reynolds was re-selected as the Labour candidate for Stalybridge and Hyde at the 2024 general election . Following the 2020 Labour Party leadership election , Keir Starmer appointed Reynolds as
261-424: A single-winner voting rule. Voters typically mark one candidate as their favorite, and the candidate with the largest number of first-preference marks (a plurality ) is elected, regardless of whether they have over half of all votes (a majority ). It is sometimes called first-past-the-post (FPTP) in reference to gambling on horse races (where bettors would guess which horse they thought would be first past
348-625: A "Parliament full of second-choices who no one really wanted but didn't really object to either." However, FPP often results in strategic voting , which has prevented extreme left- and right-wing parties from gaining parliamentary seats , as opposed to proportional representation . This also implies that strategic voting is necessary to keep extremists from gaining seats, which often fails to materialize in practice for multiple reasons. In comparison, many other systems encourage voters to rank other candidates and thereby not (or at least less often to) have to strategically compromise on their first choice at
435-600: A Brexit deal which is favourable to financial services. City A.M. Editor Christian May described him in November 2016 as "popular in the Square Mile and at home in the brief". At the snap 2017 general election , Reynolds was again re-elected with an increased vote share of 57.2% and an increased majority of 8,084. Reynolds is Chair of Christians on the Left , and also a vice-chair of Labour Friends of Israel . Reynolds has identified as
522-427: A contributory factor in the country adopting the apartheid system after the 1948 general election in that country. Leblang and Chan found that a country's electoral system is the most important predictor of a country's involvement in war, according to three different measures: (1) when a country was the first to enter a war; (2) when it joined a multinational coalition in an ongoing war; and (3) how long it stayed in
609-518: A geographical base, parties that are small UK-wide can still do very well". On the other hand, minor parties that do not concentrate their vote usually end up getting a much lower proportion of seats than votes, as they lose most of the seats they contest and 'waste' most of their votes. The ERS also says that in FPP elections using many separate districts "small parties without a geographical base find it hard to win seats". Make Votes Matter said that in
696-542: A government without being the largest party. The use of proportional representation (PR) may enable smaller parties to become decisive in the country's legislature and gain leverage they would not otherwise enjoy, although this can be somewhat mitigated by a large enough electoral threshold . They argue that FPP generally reduces this possibility, except where parties have a strong regional basis. A journalist at Haaretz noted that Israel's highly proportional Knesset "affords great power to relatively small parties, forcing
783-456: A green economy. At the 2024 general election , Reynolds was again re-elected, with a decreased vote share of 43.8% and an increased majority of 8,539. After the Labour Party’s landslide victory in the general election, Reynolds was appointed as Secretary of State for Business and Trade and President of the Board of Trade by the new Prime Minister Keir Starmer in the ensuing formation of
870-431: A majority of seats just requires receiving more than half the vote in more than half the districts—even if the other party receives all the votes cast in the other districts—so just over a quarter of the vote is theoretically enough to win a majority in the legislature. With enough candidates splitting the vote in a district, the total number of votes needed to win can be made arbitrarily small . Under first-past-the-post,
957-601: A majority of the votes cast in Canada only three times since 1921: in 1940 , 1958 and 1984 . In the United Kingdom, 19 of the 24 general elections since 1922 have produced a single-party majority government. In all but two of them ( 1931 and 1935 ), the leading party did not take a majority of the votes across the UK. In some cases, this can lead to a party receiving the plurality or even majority of total votes yet still failing to gain
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#17328837962391044-456: A minor party in protest at its policies, since to do so would likely only help the major party's main rival. Rather than curtailing extreme voices, FPP today empowers the (relatively) extreme voices of the Labour and Conservative party memberships." For example, the electoral system of Hungary , a mixed system dominated by FPP have seen Fidesz (right-wing, populist party) win 135 seats in the 2022 Hungarian parliamentary election and has remained
1131-565: A more favourable trade deal with the EU without reopening Brexit debates. He also said that he believed that political stability and good-faith negotiations were crucial for enhancing the trading relationship with the EU , aiming for practical improvements such as mutual recognition of professional qualifications and easier inter-company transfers. Reynolds also supported an industrial strategy inspired by Bidenomics , focusing on re-industrialising and decarbonising
1218-470: A plurality of legislative seats. This results in a situation called a majority reversal or electoral inversion . Famous examples of the second-place party (in votes nationally) winning a majority of seats include the elections in Ghana in 2012 , New Zealand in 1978 and 1981 , and the United Kingdom in 1951 . Famous examples of the second placed party (in votes nationally) winning a plurality of seats include
1305-623: A political assistant for the previous Stalybridge and Hyde MP James Purnell and was selected to replace Purnell after a controversial selection process. Reynolds is a member of the Co-operative Party and Unite the Union . At the 2010 general election , Reynolds was elected as MP for Stalybridge and Hyde with 39.6% of the vote and a majority of 2,744. In 2011 Reynolds stood down as a councillor. Once elected as an MP he did not claim Councillor Allowances. In July 2013, Reynolds publicly called for
1392-622: A powerful electoral incentive for large parties to target similar segments of voters with similar policies. The effect of this reduces political diversity in a country because the larger parties are incentivized to coalesce around similar policies. The ACE Electoral Knowledge Network describes India's use of FPTP as a "legacy of British colonialism". Duverger's law is an idea in political science which says that constituencies that use first-past-the-post methods will lead to two-party systems , given enough time. Economist Jeffrey Sachs explains: The main reason for America's majoritarian character
1479-492: A principle known in political science as Duverger's Law . Smaller parties are trampled in first-past-the-post elections. However, most countries with first-past-the-post elections have multiparty legislatures (albeit with two parties larger than the others), the United States being the major exception. There is a counter-argument to Duverger's Law, that while on the national level a plurality system may encourage two parties, in
1566-483: A significant number of safe seats , where a representative is sheltered from any but the most dramatic change in voting behavior. In the UK, the Electoral Reform Society estimates that more than half the seats can be considered as safe. It has been claimed that members involved in the 2009 expenses scandal were significantly more likely to hold a safe seat. The House of Commons of England originated in
1653-539: A small party may draw votes and seats away from a larger party that it is more similar to, and therefore give an advantage to one it is less similar to. For example, in the 2000 United States presidential election , the left-leaning Ralph Nader drew more votes from the left-leaning Al Gore , resulting in Nader spoiling the election for the Democrats. According to the political pressure group Make Votes Matter , FPTP creates
1740-453: A system based on plurality voting spread over many separate districts is that the larger parties, and parties with more geographically concentrated support, gain a disproportionately large share of seats, while smaller parties with more evenly distributed support gain a disproportionately small share. This is because in doing this they win many seats and do not 'waste' many votes in other areas. As voting patterns are similar in about two-thirds of
1827-563: A tendency for Independentista voters to support Populares candidates. This phenomenon is responsible for some Popular victories, even though the Estadistas have the most voters on the island, and is so widely recognised that Puerto Ricans sometimes call the Independentistas who vote for the Populares "melons", because that fruit is green on the outside but red on the inside (in reference to
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#17328837962391914-461: A vote could be considered as wasted . FPP wastes fewer votes when it is used in two-party contests. But waste of votes and minority governments are more likely when large groups of voters vote for three, four or more parties as in Canadian elections. Canada uses FPP and only two of the last seven federal Canadian elections ( 2011 and 2015 ) produced single-party majority governments. In none of them did
2001-417: A war after becoming a party to it. When the people are fairly represented in parliament, more of those groups who may object to any potential war have access to the political power necessary to prevent it. In a proportional democracy, war and other major decisions generally requires the consent of the majority. The British human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell , and others, have argued that Britain entered
2088-734: Is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom , with responsibility for the Department for Business and Trade . The incumbent is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom . The incumbent business secretary is Jonathan Reynolds who was appointed by Keir Starmer on 5 July 2024. The Secretary of State is shadowed by the Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Trade , currently Kevin Hollinrake since 2024. Corresponding to what
2175-406: Is a prospect of a change in representation, leaving safer areas excluded from participation in an active campaign. Political parties operate by targeting districts, directing their activists and policy proposals toward those areas considered to be marginal, where each additional vote has more value. This feature of FPTP has often been used by its supporters in contrast to proportional systems. In
2262-451: Is generally known as a commerce minister in many other countries, the business secretary's remit includes: During the government of Sir Alec Douglas-Home , the then president of the Board of Trade , Edward Heath , was given in addition the job of secretary of state for industry, trade and regional development . This title was not continued under Harold Wilson , but when Heath became Prime Minister in 1970 he decided to merge functions of
2349-407: Is related to kingmakers in that the lesser-known candidates may encourage their supporters to rank the other candidates a certain way. Supporters of electoral reform generally see this as a positive development, and claim that alternatives certain to FPP will encourage less negative and more positive campaigning, as candidates will have to appeal to a wider group of people. Opinions are split on whether
2436-489: Is that a portion of the electorate (2.7%) voted for Ralph Nader of the Green Party , and exit polls indicated that more of them would have preferred Gore (45%) to Bush (27%). The election was ultimately determined by the results from Florida , where Bush prevailed over Gore by a margin of only 537 votes (0.009%), which was far exceeded by the 97488 (1.635%) votes cast for Nader in that state. In Puerto Rico , there has been
2523-408: Is the electoral system for Congress. Members of Congress are elected in single-member districts according to the "first-past-the-post" (FPTP) principle, meaning that the candidate with the plurality of votes is the winner of the congressional seat. The losing party or parties win no representation at all. The first-past-the-post election tends to produce a small number of major parties, perhaps just two,
2610-546: The 2015 general election , Reynolds was re-elected as MP for Stalybridge and Hyde with an increased vote share of 45% and an increased majority of 6,686. After Jeremy Corbyn was elected to the leadership of the Labour Party in September 2015, Reynolds was made a Shadow Minister for Transport with responsibility for rail. He resigned the position following Jeremy Corbyn's January 2016 reshuffle, saying he felt he could "best serve
2697-685: The 2017 general election , "the Green Party, Liberal Democrats and UKIP (minor, non-regional parties) received 11% of votes between them, yet they shared just 2% of seats", and in the 2015 general election , "[t]he same three parties received almost a quarter of all the votes cast, yet these parties shared just 1.5% of seats." According to Make Votes Matter, in the 2015 UK general election UKIP came in third in terms of number of votes (3.9 million/12.6%), but gained only one seat in Parliament, resulting in one seat per 3.9 million votes. The Conservatives on
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2784-566: The Department for Energy and Climate Change into this department with the responsibilities for post-19 education and skills being returned to the Department for Education resulting in the position being renamed to Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy . At the same time in July 2016, the post of President of the Board of Trade was transferred to the newly created post of Secretary of State for International Trade . The current role of Secretary of State for Business and Trade
2871-514: The Department of Prices and Consumer Protection , resulting in the creation of three new positions: Secretary of State for Industry , Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection , and Secretary of State for Trade . The title President of the Board of Trade became the secondary title of the Secretary of State for Trade. By 1979 the Department of Prices and Consumer Protection was abolished by
2958-472: The Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions . Reynolds addressed the failings of the Universal Credit system, which he argued did not adequately support vulnerable people while calling for reforming legacy benefits and improving the overall welfare system to ensure fair and dignified support for all recipients. He frequently called for an emergency budget to tackle the immediate economic impacts of
3045-506: The University of Manchester and BPP Law School (Manchester). After leaving university Reynolds worked for the council and (former MP) James Purnell , before beginning training as a solicitor. Reynolds served on Labour's National Executive Committee from 2003 to 2005. In 2007, he was elected to Tameside Council as the councillor for the Longdendale ward. Reynolds worked for four years as
3132-520: The additional-member system . Reynolds was appointed a member of the BIS Select Committee in 2016. He questioned Mike Ashley during the committee's inquiry into working practices at Sports Direct . In June 2016, Reynolds argued the Labour Party had not developed a credible "alternative economic model". He has argued in favour of an industrial policy and reforms to UK equity markets. In his time as Shadow City Minister Reynolds spoke in support of
3219-434: The 1970s , where the first round selects two major contenders who go on to receive the overwhelming majority of votes. [REDACTED] Suppose that Tennessee is holding an election on the location of its capital . The population is concentrated around four major cities. All voters want the capital to be as close to them as possible. The options are: The preferences of each region's voters are: In FPTP, only
3306-414: The 20th century, many countries that previously used FPP have abandoned it in favor of other electoral systems, including the former British colonies of Australia and New Zealand . Most U.S. states still officially retain FPP for most elections. However, the combination of partisan primaries with the two-party system mean the country has effectively used a variation on the two-round system since
3393-499: The Board of Trade and the Ministry of Technology to create the Department of Trade and Industry . The head of this department became known as the secretary of state for trade and industry and also retained the title of President of the Board of Trade . When Harold Wilson re-entered office in March 1974, the office was split into the Department of Trade , the Department of Industry and
3480-554: The Condorcet and Borda count methods, which were respectively reinvented in the 18th century by the Marquis de Condorcet and Jean-Charles de Borda . More serious investigation into electoral systems came in the late 18th century, when several thinkers independently proposed systems of proportional representation to elect legislatures. The single transferable vote in particular was invented in 1819 by Thomas Wright Hill , and first used in
3567-478: The Iraq War primarily because of the political effects of FPP and that proportional representation would have prevented Britain's involvement in the war. To a greater extent than many others, the first-past-the-post method encourages "tactical voting". Voters have an incentive to vote for a candidate who they predict is more likely to win, as opposed to their preferred candidate who may be unlikely to win and for whom
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3654-634: The Middle Ages as an assembly representing the gentry of the counties and cities of the Kingdom, each of which elected either one or two members of parliament (MPs) by block plurality voting . Starting in the 19th century, electoral reform advocates pushed to replace these multi-member constituencies with single-member districts. Elections to the Canadian House of Commons have always been conducted with FPP. The United States broke away from British rule in
3741-802: The Opposition and a Shadow Energy and Climate Change Minister from 2013 to 2015. He was a Shadow Transport Minister from 2015 to 2016 and a Shadow Treasury Minister from 2016 until 2020. He was Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions from 2020 to 2021, and has been a front bench representative on the Labour National Executive Committee since 2020. Jonathan Reynolds was born on 28 August 1980 in Houghton-le-Spring in County Durham to Keith and Judith Reynolds. He moved to Manchester in 1998, studying Politics and Modern History at
3828-434: The absence of) of party primaries maybe strengthen or weaken this effect. In general, FPP has no mechanism that would benefit more moderate candidates and many supporters of FPP defend it electing the largest and most unified (even if more polarizing) minority over a more consensual majority supported candidate. Allowing people into parliament who did not finish first in their district was described by David Cameron as creating
3915-450: The alternative vote (better known as instant runoff voting outside the UK) achieves this better than other systems. Supporters and opponents of FPP often argue whether FPP advantages or disadvantages extremist parties. Among single-winner systems, FPP suffers from the center squeeze phenomenon , where more moderate candidates are squeezed out by more extreme ones. However, the different types (or
4002-712: The business policy responsibilities of BEIS, and the functions of the former Department for International Trade . Secretary of State for Industry Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection Secretary of State for Trade First-past-the-post voting Positional voting Cardinal voting Quota-remainder methods Approval-based committees Fractional social choice Semi-proportional representation By ballot type Pathological response Strategic voting Paradoxes of majority rule Positive results First-preference plurality ( FPP ) also known as single-member district plurality ( SMDP )—often shortened simply to plurality —is
4089-416: The country in question in circumstances where the government's legislative agenda has broad public support, albeit potentially divided across party lines, or at least benefits society as a whole. However handing a legislative voting majority to a government which lacks popular support can be problematic where said government's policies favor only that fraction of the electorate that supported it, particularly if
4176-472: The country with Reynolds saying that “economic growth is this government’s driving mission and boosting trade and investment with some of the world’s biggest economies is crucial to that.” According to the Financial Times , Reynolds said that he was "sick" of losing potential investment opportunities to France and Spain. Reynolds stated that he would initiate plans on "how Britain intends to sell itself to
4263-436: The districts, it is more likely that a single party will hold a majority of legislative seats under FPP than happens in a proportional system, and under FPP it is rare to elect a majority government that actually has the support of a majority of voters. Because FPP permits many wasted votes , an election under FPP is more easily gerrymandered. Through gerrymandering , electoral areas are designed deliberately to unfairly increase
4350-616: The economy through strategic investments and regulatory changes which aimed to align domestic industrial policy with foreign trade policy, ensuring that the economic benefits of green transitions would be felt by British workers. Reynolds focused on revitalising the country’s industrial strategy and addressing the economic challenges post- Brexit . Reynolds initiative was the launch of Labour’s industrial strategy, which aimed to tackle issues such as supply chain disruptions and workforce skills shortages, with an emphasis on delivering clean power and reducing carbon dependency by 2030 and leveraging for
4437-399: The election a center squeeze . By contrast, both Condorcet methods and score voting would return Nashville (the capital of Tennessee). Perhaps the most striking effect of FPP is the fact that the number of a party's seats in a legislature has nothing to do with its vote count in an election, only in how those votes were geographically distributed. This has been a target of criticism for
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#17328837962394524-608: The elections in Canada in 2019 and 2021 as well as in Japan in 2003 . Even when a party wins more than half the votes in an almost purely two-party-competition, it is possible for the runner-up to win a majority of seats. This happened in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines in 1966 , 1998 , and 2020 and in Belize in 1993 . Even with only two parties and equally-sized constituencies, winning
4611-407: The electorate divides on tribal, religious, or urban–rural lines. There is also the perceived issue of unfair coalitions where a smaller party can form a coalition with other smaller parties and form a government, without a clear mandate as was the case in the 2009 Israeli legislative election where the leading party Kadima , was unable to form a coalition so Likud , a smaller party, managed to form
4698-529: The finishing post). In social choice , FPP is generally treated as a degenerate variant of ranked voting , where voters rank the candidates, but only the first preference matters. As a result, FPP is usually implemented with a choose-one ballot , where voters place a single bubble next to their favorite candidate. FPP has been used to elect the British House of Commons since the Middle Ages . Throughout
4785-407: The first preferences matter. As such, the votes would be counted as 42% for Memphis, 26% for Nashville, 17% for Knoxville, and 15% for Chattanooga. Since Memphis has the most votes, it would win a FPTP election, even though it is far from the center of the state and a majority of voters would prefer Nashville . Similarly, instant-runoff voting would elect Knoxville , the easternmost city. This makes
4872-517: The government had "no choice" due to a £22 billion black hole in public finances and urged Labour MPs to back the issue. Reynolds alongside Douglas Alexander visited Saudi Arabia to meet officials on a new trade deal with the Gulf Cooperation Council in Riyadh which included United Arab Emirates. It came as a part of the government's attempts to boost economic growth and to drive investment within
4959-439: The government to give in to political blackmail and to reach compromises"; Tony Blair , defending FPP, argued that other systems give small parties the balance of power, and influence disproportionate to their votes. The concept of kingmakers is adjacent to how Winston Churchill criticized the alternative vote system as "determined by the most worthless votes given for the most worthless candidates." meaning that votes for
5046-478: The incoming Conservative government and its responsibilities were reintegrated into the Department of Trade. Furthermore, 1983 the offices of trade and industry were remerged and the title of Secretary of State for Trade and Industry was recreated. When Michael Heseltine held this office, he preferred to be known by the older title of President of the Board of Trade, and this practice was also followed by Ian Lang and Margaret Beckett . Heseltine's decision to reuse
5133-481: The individual constituencies supermajorities will lead to the vote fracturing. It has been suggested that the distortions in geographical representation provide incentives for parties to ignore the interests of areas in which they are too weak to stand much chance of gaining representation, leading to governments that do not govern in the national interest. Further, during election campaigns the campaigning activity of parties tends to focus on marginal seats where there
5220-568: The largest party in Hungary since 2010 by changing the electoral system to mostly use FPP instead of the previous mixed system using mostly the two-round system . Since 2010, Fidesz has implemented other anti-democratic reforms that now mean the European Parliament no longer qualifies Hungary as a full democracy. Electoral reform campaigners have argued that the use of FPP in South Africa was
5307-514: The late 18th century, and its constitution provides for an electoral college to elect its president. Despite original intentions to the contrary, by the mid-19th century this college had transformed into a de facto use of FPP for each state's presidential election. This further morphed through the introduction of the party primary , which made American elections into a two-round system in practice. Non-plurality voting systems have been devised since at least 1299, when Ramon Llull came up with both
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#17328837962395394-526: The latter, smaller parties act as 'kingmakers' in coalitions as they have greater bargaining power and therefore, arguably, their influence on policy is disproportional to their parliamentary size- this is largely avoided in FPP systems where majorities are generally achieved. FPP often produces governments which have legislative voting majorities, thus providing such governments the legislative power necessary to implement their electoral manifesto commitments during their term in office. This may be beneficial for
5481-847: The launch of a state-owned energy company. Reynolds was a staunch advocate for the Green Prosperity Plan, which aimed to create a million new jobs through green investment which would guarantee economic benefits by achieving net zero emissions, including reduced energy costs and new jobs. Reynolds was vocal about the inadequacies of government policy regarding energy regulation and criticised the government’s particularly handling of prepayment meter installations that adversely affected vulnerable customers. He proposed more stringent policies and better support for small businesses facing high energy costs. His relationship with key Labour frontbenchers, such as Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves and advocacy for green energy underscored Labour’s commitment to creating
5568-501: The leading party receive a majority of the votes. The position is sometimes summarized, in an extreme form, as "all votes for anyone other than the runner-up are votes for the winner." This is because votes for these other candidates deny potential support from the second-placed candidate, who might otherwise have won. Following the extremely close 2000 U.S. presidential election , some supporters of Democratic candidate Al Gore believed one reason he lost to Republican George W. Bush
5655-403: The least supported candidates may change the outcome of the election between the most supported candidates. In this case however, this is a feature of the alternative vote, since those votes would have otherwise been wasted (and in some sense this makes every vote count, as opposed to FPP), and this effect is only possible when no candidate receives an outright majority of first preference votes. it
5742-428: The method, many arguing that a fundamental requirement of an election system is to accurately represent the views of voters. FPP often creates "false majorities" by over-representing larger parties (giving a majority of the parliamentary/legislative seats to a party that did not receive a majority of the votes) while under-representing smaller ones. In Canada, majority governments have been formed due to one party winning
5829-466: The new government. In one of his first statements as Business Secretary , Jonathan Reynolds ruled out moving to ID cards, seemingly contradicting a previous statement where he left the option open. While the context was crime, this has been interpreted as setting out a traditionalist, anti-technology stance and has been contrasted with Sir Tony Blair 's call to embrace modern technology in the interests of economic growth, including digital ID cards. Reynolds
5916-411: The north of England. This pattern hides the large number of votes for the non-dominant party. Parties can find themselves without elected politicians in significant parts of the country, heightening feelings of regionalism. Party supporters (who may nevertheless be a significant minority) in those sections of the country are unrepresented. In the 2019 Canadian federal election Conservatives won 98% of
6003-411: The number of seats won by one party by redrawing the map such that one party has a small number of districts in which it has an overwhelming majority of votes (whether due to policy, demographics which tend to favor one party, or other reasons), and many districts where it is at a smaller disadvantage. The British Electoral Reform Society (ERS) says that regional parties benefit from this system. "With
6090-468: The number required for victory. For example, in the UK general election of 2005 , 52% of votes were cast for losing candidates and 18% were excess votes—a total of 70% "wasted" votes. On this basis a large majority of votes may play no part in determining the outcome. This winner-takes-all system may be one of the reasons why "voter participation tends to be lower in countries with FPP than elsewhere." The effect of
6177-496: The old title caused some controversy, and it was discovered that the Board of Trade had not in fact met since the mid-nineteenth century. Under Gordon Brown 's premiership there were two re-namings of the role and three re-alignments of responsibility. In his first cabinet of 2007, he called the post Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform . With this change, the Better Regulation Executive
6264-629: The other hand received one seat per 34,000 votes. The winner-takes-all nature of FPP leads to distorted patterns of representation, since it exaggerates the correlation between party support and geography. For example, in the UK the Conservative Party represents most of the rural seats in England, and most of the south of England, while the Labour Party represents most of the English cities and most of
6351-591: The pandemic and focusing on the need for long-term planning in pensions and social security . In September 2023, after a shadow cabinet reshuffle , he was appointed as Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Trade . Reynolds advocated for a balanced approach to the UK-EU relationship since the Brexit referendum . He said that Labour would not seek to rejoin the EU’s single market or customs union , focusing instead on achieving
6438-442: The party as a backbencher" and expressing his support for the sacked Pat McFadden . He supported Owen Smith in the 2016 Labour leadership election . Following the re-election of Jeremy Corbyn as leader of the Labour Party , he was re-appointed to the shadow front bench as Shadow City Minister. In December 2015, Reynolds introduced a Private Member's Bill which would have changed UK general elections from first-past-the-post to
6525-585: The party colors). Because voters have to predict who the top two candidates will be, results can be significantly distorted: Proponents of other voting methods in single-member districts argue that these would reduce the need for tactical voting and reduce the spoiler effect . Examples include preferential voting systems, such as instant runoff voting , as well as the two-round system of runoffs and less tested methods such as approval voting and Condorcet methods . Wasted votes are seen as those cast for losing candidates, and for winning candidates in excess of
6612-422: The previous government and former ministers for their "bizarre approach towards working from home and "declaring war" on who did not returned to office. In an article to The Guardian , Reynolds said that plans will be put in place for opening new markets extending growth internationally for Britain by removing regressive business rates, time late payments for small businesses and position major institutions under
6699-531: The resignation of Tameside Hospital's Chief Executive, Christine Green. During his campaign, Reynolds focused on local issues such as the redevelopment of town centres, particularly Stalybridge, the Mottram-Tintwistle Bypass, the need for more primary school places in Hyde, and improved rail links in his constituency. His commitment to addressing these local concerns resonated with voters and helped him secure
6786-540: The same time. On the other hand, the Constitution Society published a report in April 2019 stating that, "[in certain circumstances] FPP can ... abet extreme politics , since should a radical faction gain control of one of the major political parties, FPP works to preserve that party's position. ...This is because the psychological effect of the plurality system disincentivises a major party's supporters from voting for
6873-418: The seat. He also supported improvements Northern Hub rail and also opposed policing cuts in his constituency. Under Ed Miliband , Reynolds was appointed Shadow Justice and Constitutional Affairs Whip. He was later appointed Miliband's Parliamentary Private Secretary and Shadow Minister for Energy and Climate Change. As Shadow Energy Minister, he focused on fuel poverty, energy efficiency , and solar energy. At
6960-639: The seats in Alberta and Saskatchewan with only 68% of the vote. The lack of non-Conservative representation gives the appearance of greater Conservative support than actually exists. Similarly, in Canada's 2021 elections, the Conservative Party won 88% of the seats in Alberta with only 55% of the vote, and won 100% of the seats in Saskatchewan with only 59% of the vote. First-past-the-post within geographical areas tends to deliver (particularly to larger parties)
7047-1154: The shipbuilding giant Harland & Wolff, the Grangemouth job deprivation and an "emergency situation" at British steel. Reynolds lives in Stalybridge in Greater Manchester . He has four children, three with his wife Claire Johnston and one from a previous relationship; his eldest son is autistic . Outside politics, his interests include supporting Sunderland A.F.C. , films and gardening. Secretary of State for Business and Trade King Charles III [REDACTED] William, Prince of Wales [REDACTED] Charles III ( King-in-Council ) [REDACTED] Starmer ministry ( L ) Keir Starmer ( L ) Angela Rayner ( L ) ( King-in-Parliament ) [REDACTED] Charles III [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] The Lord Reed The Lord Hodge Andrew Bailey Monetary Policy Committee The secretary of state for business and trade (business secretary) ,
7134-440: The supervision of a new National Wealth Fund, which would invest in new green industries.Reynolds also affirmed that the government will be working alongside multination companies, regional councils, devolved governments and trade unions to "build a more resilient economy" with plans to transition Britain to clean energy by 2030. Following the controversial decision to scarp the winter fuel allowance from pensioners, Reynolds said that
7221-457: The world" that would be presented before a international investment summit on 14 October with an "industrial strategy" that will draw new funds. Reynolds said that he would announce the next chair of the Global Council and that he would be working with “high calibre set of people”. Reynolds also acknowledged multiple that would needed to be managed despite generating progress with the collapse of
7308-451: Was added to the department but the Office of Science and Innovation was lost. In 2008, the title remained the same but responsibility for energy was lost. In 2009, the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills was merged into the existing department and the post became Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills . In July 2016, Prime Minister Theresa May decided to merge
7395-442: Was established on 7 February 2023 after a cabinet reshuffle by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak saw the dissolution of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and its responsibilities transferred to three new departments: Department for Business and Trade , the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology , and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero . The new Department for Business and Trade absorbed
7482-541: Was sworn into the Privy Council on 10 July 2024, entitling him to be styled " The Right Honourable " for life. Reynolds said that flexing work laws could reduce regional inequality and increase productivity as he criticised the previous Conservative government for “declaring war on people working from home”. He also expressed support for increasing the minimum wage, plans to ban zero-hours contracts, end policies of fire and re-hire as part of its Employment Rights Bill, which
7569-482: Was unveiled in July’s King’s Speech. On 19 September, Reynolds heavily criticised Amazon after it ordered employees back into office five days per week and defended employers who allowed workers to work from home, which included staff in his own government department. Reynolds insisted that workers be judged “by their output, not whether they are sat at a desk”. In an interview with The Times , Reynolds attacked
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